pass the dead horse

‘Dead horse’ is Australian rhyming slang for ‘tomato sauce’. There are a lot of examples of rhyming slang – ‘Joe Blake’ for snake, ‘trouble and strife’ for wife – but these are rarely used today by Australia’s younger generations, especially not in the cities.

Nevertheless, there are quite a few Australian slang terms that are used by everyone – young and old. Here is a smattering of the most common Aussie slang, some terms more regional than others. Hopefully by learning these you’ll save yourself from the otherwise inevitable awkward moments…

bogan = this is a tricky one to explain. The word is used to describe a particular variety of Australian – something along the lines of a ‘chav’ (UK) or ‘white-trash’ (US), but the Aussie version much subtler and more varied.

bottle shop / bottle-O = liquor store

booze bus = police van set up to test the blood’s alcohol and drug levels